Indicator 3.1 - Curriculum (RESEARCH)

3.1 Develops and implements curriculum based on clearly-defined expectations for student learning

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"A guaranteed and viable curriculum is the number one school-level factor impacting student achievement."
(Robert Marzano)
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Standards-Based Instruction (Understanding By Design)


"In all cases, for teachers to identify and activate the explicit connections between instruction and standards,and therefore improve student performance, they must be involved in the process of making those alignments" (Applebee, 1996; Koppang, 2004; Langer, 2001).

Standards-Based Instruction (by discipline)


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21st Century Learning Skills
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  • Essential Job Skills (Employers’ perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century U.S. workforce)
  • Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help fuse the 3Rs and 4Cs (Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation).



Curriculum Mapping

Curriculum mapping is a process for recording what content and skills are actually taught in a classroom, school, or district during a longer period of time. The data provide an overview, rather than a daily classroom perspective, of what is actually happening over the course of the school year (Jacobs, 1997a).


Standards and Assessment



RESOURCES

Citations:

Guskey, Thomas R. (2001). Helping standards make the grade. Educational Leadership 59 no1 20-7 S
Jacobs, Heidi H. (2003, 2004). Creating a timely curriculum: A conversation with Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Educational Leadership 61 (4) 12-15
Jones, K. A., Vermette, P. J., & Jones, J. L. (2009). An integration of "backwards planning" unit design with the "two-step" lesson planning
framework. Education, 130(2). retrieved from:Academic Search Premier, October 11, 2011.
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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Essential Questions
  • 3.1 a - How does the school ensure that its curriculum is based on clear and measurable expectations for student learning?
  • 3.1 b - How does the school ensure that current written curriculum documents are aligned to state and national standards or curriculum required by the governing body?
  • 3.1 c - How does the school ensure effective implementation of the curriculum so that teachers know what they are expected to teach in each grade level or course?
  • 3.1 d - How is the curriculum evaluated and revised on a regular basis?